the way things are
by FireworksAndMe
Summary: Have you ever wondered what Hiei would have been like if the ice apparitions hadn't shunned him? Well i've got the story! R
1. Chapter 1

**Do you ever wonder what hiei would have been like if the ice apparitions hadn't thrown him off the ice world? Please review!**

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**The way things are**

**-Ice apparitions are a timid race, once having seen the havoc man protrudes throughout his land, and his family, this culture of strictly female societies have isolated themselves from the world to escape the horrors of men and their warring habits. Taking their own territory and hoisting it into an oblivious space in the sky……… Ice maidens have strict rules, every hundred years or so an elder takes a group of women to the out side world, to let them decide for themselves which path to take. At this their most vulnerable time, many maidens indulge themselves into the most vile of crimes: The pleasures of the flesh.-**

**-But due to population standards, ice maidens, at their own whims, have a baby regardless. The baby is ALWAYS female-**

**-The ice world has survived countless centuries this way. Any maiden who gave into these sacred covenants, left with out a word, already knowing if she came back, herself and her child would be killed, all under sacrificial law.-**

_The winds howled, the caps of the mountains that were made of snow blew in an oblique line. The clouds below moved so gracefully as they glided over the warring land, underneath unknown isolation._

_A woman of this isolated paradise in the sky walked with a heavy heart, with intentions known only to her. She stopped in front of a spacious hut and took in a deep breath of icy air, it chilled her restless nerves, but only for a moment. This woman whose hair fell into an abundant mass of robin's egg blue, just above her waist, timidly pulled away the door cover, on the front of the wise looking hut, to the side and entered._

_**"Elder"** The woman spoke._

_**"Yes my gracious child?"** The woman asked in a tender voice._

_**"There is something that you should know…."** She paused_

**_"Well what is it Hina?" _**

**_"One month ago…. Do you remember when you took myself and others with you to-"_**

_**" That despicable land! Yes I remember. I'm so glad you decided not to stay there unlike so many other deceitful maidens"** The elderly woman snapped at first, but became gentle towards the end of her speech._

_Her name now revealed, Hina took an unsure gulp and took upon a look of utter shame and guilt._

_**"Why the look my child? "** The elder smiled._

_**"Elder"** Hina almost cried out, like she was calling for her mother._

_The older woman's eyes widened._

_**"NO! No, don't tell me you-"**She didn't bother to finish her sentence as she looked disbelievingly into Hina's shaking eyes._

_The elder bowed her head in disappointment before she spoke again._

_**> > > > > > > > > > >**_

_**"Why did you come back here" **Her stern voice echoed over a state room that held many ice apparitions that looked upon hina in shame._

_She stood in the middle of the room for all to see._

_Hina whimpered **"I didn't want to leave, I love living here!"**_

_There were questionable murmurs and glares coming from the crowd of women._

_**"If you loved this paradise of ours and our people you should have restrained yourself!"** The elder mocked._

_Hina began to cry._

_**"The towns people and the committee will decide what happens to you and your unborn child tonight, I suggest you go home."** The elder turned away from her beloved child and went into a back room, Hina looked around and felt eyes of hatred and disgust crawling all over her, with a broken heart and embarrassment written all over her face, she staggered out of the building holding in unshed tears of regret as she trudged through the thick snow to her own abode._

_The next morning she appeared in the same house, with the same maidens, but different looks were directed her way, instead of hatred and disgusted, she found sympathy and gratitude. She questioned this in her own chilled thoughts._

_**"Hina… We have decided, that you will be able to stay……and you will be able to keep your child what ever sex it may turn out to be."** The elder said_

_The words echoed through Hina's mind, as tears of joy fell, hit the ground and bounced in different directions. Hina's best friend Rui ran up to her and embraced her petite form. Every one in the room smiled for her until the room was brought to be silent._

_**"There is one exception though Hina"** The elder spoke** "After this child you are banned to have anymore, even through your natural cycle"**_

_Hina smiled joyously and swore that day, to herself, and all around her, that she would never perceive a child or touch a man ever again._

**-8 months later, the birth date: the last phase of the brightest star, a sagitarian month, December-**

_**" Hina! Push! Breathe!"** Rui cheered._

_Hina grunted to the commands and obliged. After many hours of painful pushes, hindered breaths and limited breaks, Hina became a mother._

_Two tear drops fell into her lap: one for each of her children._

_Hina could hear the cries of only one of her children. She began to panic._

_**" My baby! Why isn't she crying? "** Hina gasped through short breaths._

_**"Hina… your baby girl is just fine, and so is your son, it's very odd that he does not cry."** Rui said soothingly._

_**" A son?"** Hina smiled._

_**"Yes, a beautiful baby girl, and a handsome baby boy"** Rui smiled and stroked her hand._

_Hina held both her children with the arms that would be kept busy until they were grown. Hina's face held many emotions that day. Pain, Sorrow, Joy, and an undying love and protection she would always have over her children._

_Hina could've been looking into her own fate of death as she gazed at her son, but she didn't care. All she could make certain is that she would love and nurture him...and never abandon her place as a mother in his life._

_Hina had something no ice maiden had before her, she had a son…….. and she was allowed to remain, little did she know at the time though, that her son would grow into a steal shield that would be neglected by other children his age._

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**Good? If so review and tell me how great I am! HAHA!**


	2. Chapter 2

Ok it's been a while since I updated, its actually been so long I had to re read my own chapter to see what's going on LOL

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The Midwives had gone home, and all who remained in the quiet abode was Hina, her two children, and Rui. Their was a strange and awkward silence through out the room, though becoming a mother had filled Hina with many new joys she never though she could feel all at once, she was also filled with a constant worry in her heart. What she had been through was reckoning indeed, but now she feared that the elders decision would be met with civil disobedience, she new it, and she experienced it, Rui was sitting at her side during labor as it had happened….

-flashback-

The final push had released her children from her womb, exhausted in so many ways she leaned against her headboard, closing her weary eyes. She and Rui had smiled at BOTH children as they came out, Rui was giddy and excited, patting Hina's hand joyously in celebration. The midwives however, they had refused to touch the man child, the old women had pulled him out as if they were trying not to catch a disease of some sort, they refused to clean him up or provide post labor care for him, this was about the time Rui had almost literally pushed them aside and cared for the child herself, the elders looking on her with disdain as they had left the hut.

-end flashback-

Hina sat quietly in her bed, holding a child in each arm, she gazed at her son who was in the process of hungrily sucking. Their was a sickening worry in her heart and a fear she had for her son. What kind of life would he have around these hateful women? Could she ever let him out of her sight without the worry that one of the many other women would kill him?

Rui sat faithfully by Hina's side, watching the inner battle she was having. Rui and Hina had always been close friends since childhood, and had promised to stay that way, but a horrible truth laid between them. No matter what the elders of the village said, no matter what law they had made for Hina and her children's protection, their would ALWAYS be a looming shadow of civil disobedience. The old women of the village who had spent their entire life hating men would find her son an abomination, and they already had, before the midwives had left Hina had over heard them mutter 'imiko' under their breaths. Oh yes, the citizens of the ice village would find a way to destroy her son, even if the elders had promised harsh punishment, which they already had. For thousands of years the ice village hated men and the women who indulged in them, Hina and her son would be treated no differently, the only difference was, that they would be staying and they would be subjected to an up close and personal hatred, not one that they could defeat by running away. Hina would not only be subject to it, but the women who supported her, she feared, would be treated with hatred as well.

"Rui.. I fear for my son…," Hina began to sob.

Rui stroked her forehead. "Shhh…It will be alright Hina, the people of the village…. just don't understand right now…. but they will."

Hina wished desperately that she was right, but wishing and praying wasn't a gaurentee of her sons' safety, or even her daughter's……

The elders spoke in hushed voices in the village center.

"Why?! Why did you allow her and that, that….that imiko to stay!?" one of the old women howled.

"We will be slaughtered for sure!! We need to put the good of the village first before you favorite!" another old woman cut in.

"She's right, what will happen when that beast matures??? I will tell you what will happen, he'll kill everyone, that little abomination was born with murder in his blood!!"

The village head listened, but did not speak for a few minutes, contemplating what their concerns were.

"I understand all of your frustrations, and I also understand that your comments are direct mirrors of what all our village people whisper, but if we raise the child, as we do all our others, perhaps he can be of some use." she slowly stated

"Elder! We have NEVER doubted your judgment, but what leads you to believe that this imiko will grow to be of use, instead of just picking our bones clean with his canines?" One woman spoke.

"The boy is an infant, he certainly is not capable of doing any bone picking in the near future" she paused. " Their have been 'incidents' in the past with other males, but when that happened we were still a part of the world below… Humans and demons alike have now started to wonder.. Where did the ice apparitions go? And recently as you all know, some have found us on this barren land in the sky, seeking our tears. We could use the boy as protection."

An outrage broke out. "You mean let him FIGHT off demons, it'll only be a matter of time after the boy learns to fight that his blood lust will catch up, and what will happen if there are no more demons to fight off??? He will come after us!"

This statement made the room clustered with concern and fright and in the gathering of 20 women one of them shouted "We must kill him before this happens!!!!!!"

The head elder slammed her wrinkled hand on a wooden table, " SILENCE!" and the room went quiet.

"No one! NO ONE is to touch that child with any ill hand or I will see to it that you are thrown off this island," the head elders pruned lips pursed, the lines in her face growing deeper with her frustration towards all the thick skulls in the room.

The old women were silent for a moment before one stood from her chair.

"I have no quarrel with Hina and her children staying here.. If it is your wish and divine law that she stay here with no trouble, I have no quarrel, but I wonder of the younger women in the village, we, the elders of the village have preached for years 'men are bad, men are evil, hate them, stay away from them' this will surely be applied towards Hina's son…… I fear that any motion you set forth in the protection of that child will be retaliated against." The old woman sat down "I will help Hina along any way I can in the raising of that child, but no promises of his safety can be made if the women of the village begin to doubt your decisions, especially if they may have some inflicting power towards their own children and their protection."

"What do you mean by that?" The head elder spoke.

The hunched over, sitting old women spoke again, "I mean that if your wish is to see Hina's son grow, women in the village may fear for their own children's safety, since their children will be growing up with the boy, he will surely be shunned and act as any child would if they were left out, if he is to throw a common fit like any other common child he will be looked upon with a very strict and harsh double standard, I fear civil disobedience in the future, head elder."

"I understand your perspective, but their is also a chance that the young women in the village will look upon him with curiosity… "

"One will only hope. Head elder, but then that will bring up another pressing and controversial factor, what of the boy's sexual habits when he gets older, are we to throw out the method of our own natural cycle and breed again?"

The old women in the room glared and scowled at this idea and were now starting to hate the fact that the boy was still living more and more.

As the meeting ended ideas were freely tossed around of the boy's future, some of the women had seen the logic in the usefulness of a male in the village and became quite excited about it, while many of the others kept their life long hatred towards males and still spoke of killing the child off.

Rui had somehow managed to cheer Hina up, seeing as how Hina was humming peacefully and stringing her tear gems into a forever keepsake for her children.

"You possibly have the most beautiful baby girl in the entire village Hina," Rui congratulated.

"She is gorgeous… " Hina smiled in pride.

"What will you name her?" Rui smiled, this possibly being the most exciting part, naming the children.

Hina furrowed her brow as she slipped the charm around her daughters neck. "How about……Yukina."

Rui tickled the baby girls chin. "I love that name, it suites her perfectly! What of your son? "

"This is a bit harder, what are men usually named?" she asked a bit hushed.

"I've never heard them called anything good." Rui offered solemnly.

Just then an old woman came into Hina's home without so much as a knock at the door to annunciate her entrance.

"Name the child Hiei, it will reflect on how he will live his life." she offered.

Hina looked to her son and then to the village elder( the one who offered to help Hina)

"I've never heard of such a name, what does it mean?"

"It means, quite literally, fleeting shadow, the one who hides in the shadow, one who lives in the shadow, however you mean to perceive it as."

Hina doubted that as a 'good' name for her son, but the suggestion wasn't meant with malice. She laid her hand upon her sons belly and rubbed his soft baby skin. "Hiei," she repeated.

"Your son… I will help you in raising him, as to see he survives his childhood, Hina." The elder offered her a sympathetic look.

Hina's eyes swelled with shimmering tears.

"Thank you very much, elder" Hina choked out.

"Your son…..may I hold him?" the elder asked.

"So long as I know you will not intentionally drop him or try to kill him." Hina said carefully.

"I am here to offer my help and guidance to you and your son, I would never go back on my word, you have plenty of other people who will try to do that, I'll leave that job to them, hm?"

"You may hold him…." Hina said.

The elder hobbled near the bed, and gently picked up the infant, the old woman shifted him in her arms so that she may have a good look at his face.

"You have such an intense flame around you ,Hiei…." The old woman began to speak to the boy child. " I wonder how a child can be raised a killer if no men are around to teach him evil ways…the women of this village will be forced to see this one day, hopefully soon, but I'm sure that your son's pyro and cryo kinetic powers will indeed be useful in the future just as head elder said"

The old woman held the wriggling child in her arms, for once since the child was birthed, he opened his eyes……Blood red. That's what the elder saw, blood red eyes, she hoped that the boy would not grow up to 'see red'.

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How did you like it? The next chapter will have a time skip in it, Hiei and Yukina will probably be around 6, tell me what you think and if you think I left anything out 


	3. Chapter 3

The elder stayed with Hina through the first several months of child raising. Caring for Hina's daughter was a complete breeze, but her son became very fussy, when he became hungry Hina would cringe, her chest had become so sore from breast feeding, the boy suckled so hard that once she even began bleeding.

"Elder… how long do women usually breast feed, I'm not sure I'll have anything left" Hina complained.

The elder let out a very aged and strained laugh, the laugh caused her to cough, which made her wheeze, which then in turn forced her to sit down, softly chuckling.

"Child, child… you may stop breast feeding anytime you wish, you can use a simple bottle to feed him."

At this Rui started laughing as well, for the past 3 months of isolation inside her hut Hina could have ended her agony.

"What?" she groaned, tenderly massaging her aching bosom.

Rui walked over to her and stroked her hair. "Poor Hina… maybe you should try running some warm water on yourself to help relieve some pressure."

"Sounds like a great idea" Hina sighed.

"Enjoy it while you can Hina, as tradition goes your 'leave' from the village to care for your children is almost over, this isolation only lasts 4 months."

"So that means I only have 1 more month before I expose him to the village…" Hina said sadly.

"That's right…. But in the meantime lets focus on feeding your son before he gets hungry again," the elder smiled " go take a warm shower, when you get out we'll take the milk from you and start feeding your children from a bottle."

Hina got up from her chair, going to her bathroom, she ran the water for about 6 minutes until it eventually heated up, living in the ice village sure did have its downs when it came to having warm water….

Hina, tired of standing, sat on her shower floor her head propped against the tile, letting the temporary warm water run over her aching muscles, she tried massaging herself to speed the process of loosening everything up because warm water in the ice village ran for maybe 2 minutes before it turned icy cold.

Outside the bathroom the elder held Yukina in her arms. " I'm surprised that the little one here barley cries"

"Maybe it's because she feels sorry for Hina, Hiei cries enough for both of them" Rui laughed, but almost like a trigger from what she said Hiei began to wail again, the boy child would cry and cry, no matter what anybody did he would not stop, changing his dressings nor feeding him would satisfy the crying. Rui rubbed her temples.

"I guess I jinxed us."

Rui slid down the wooden panel to the baby crib and picked Hiei up, bouncing him on her knee and rubbing his back, anything to stop his horrific and nerve scraping cries.

Hina had heard her child crying just about the time her warm salvation had turned icy. She dried herself and slipped into a new loosely fitted robe. She emerged, her robins egg blue hair wavy from the water, she stuck out her arms, twiddling her fingers, a sign to have Rui hand over her son to her. Rui carefully passed him to his mother, Hiei flailed and wriggled continuously, making holding him a very difficult task.

"Why is he so fussy?" Hina complained.

"I don't know, maybe we should bathe him again, he seemed to like that before." Rui suggested.

"I suppose we could try" Hina strained her voice over her child's wails

The elder gimped from her chair and went to the kitchen Hina and Rui following, Rui filled the sink, as Hina began to unclad her son, Hina broke into a panic as soon as she felt her bare hand touch her sons bare body. "He's burning up!!"

The elder, once in the process of lighting the burner beneath the sink felt the child. "We should get him in the cold water" she suggested.

Hina lifted Hiei over the counter and settled him in the water, Hiei sat in the water, continuing to wail, a few moments later the water began to boil.

Hina frantically lifted Hiei out of the water. "You lit the burner?!"

The elder looked under the sink and in astonishment she said " The burner is ice cold, the heat is coming from the child."

"He couldn't have….. He doesn't feel THAT hot" Rui said.

"Hina… I do not wish to bring up the subject for but this once…but what kind of male demon did you 'cross paths' with" The elder asked carefully

Hina blushed at the question. "Well um.. He is a fire demon…." Hina said slowly, but I've never seen him to 'that' to water.

The elder nodded "He's producing such a high power…and at this age, the boy cant even speak yet and he has more spirit power than anyone in the village…."

Hiei's cries had stopped when he was pulled out of the water and was now sleeping peacefully in his mothers arms, Hina looked down at his sleeping face.

"He's stopped crying…"

"The boy is not capable of controlling his spiritual power, I suppose the most logical explanation there is…since he cant control it, it 'leaks' out of his body, raising his temperature, that probably makes him uncomfortable, but the spells of leaking energy are brief and soon relieved, I'm sure once he's grown a bit he'll unconsciously be able to control it" The elder nostalgically said.

"Well!" Rui sighed. "That was an earful!"

Hina nodded rubbing her son's back, kissing his forehead. "I sure hope you're right elder"

Hina's isolation from the village was to end this upcoming weekend and the elder who had helped her along left her side at this time, leaving Hina to her thoughts and to her children, the elder stepped into a commonly known hut where 19 other old women were gathered at a long table, the head elder sitting at the front.

"So tell us…. How is Hina and what of her children" head elder spoke.

"As new to parenting as she is, she is a very caring and loving mother to her children, her son, Hiei, I have found out recently that the boy is a hybrid between the ice and fire.." the old woman said.

Mutters of disdain and disapproval went around the room, not only had Hina been wretched enough to break their sacred covenant, she had done so with a fire demon.

The old woman continued on. "The boy emits a very intense flame from his body, I suspect he's not in control of his energy, but as he grows I'm confident that he will learn to control it with much ease."

"So you're saying, in the experience with the child that he is exceptionally powerful" one of the old women said.

The elder nodded, and fearful expressions were shared among the old women.

"So the boy is powerful, he is still merely an infant, it wont be until his later years that we will see what his means are with it." the head elder reassured.

The meeting of progress was over, the women who had once been excited about a boy being in the village were startled and fearful of the news they had received about the boys power.

**_1 week later_**

Hina stepped from her house, the first breath of cold icy air pushed its way into her lungs, refreshing her, for the first time in months. She held her son in her arms, Hiei's eyes scoured this icy territory, though still only an infant he took into account were he was. Yukina, held by Rui, was sleeping peacefully, the frigid air crossed her face but she made no qualm of it, both herself and her bother, like the other ice apparitions, had a very high tolerance of cold weather. Rui had noticed the women of the village out and about with their own children, gazing towards Hina with disapproval. Hina felt as if she were a lost animal in a den of wolves. The only thing that made her feel better was the fact that Rui was standing beside her.

One woman confronted Hina, her eyebrows narrowed, the look on her face changing to disgust as she gazed down at Hina's son, Hina held him tighter, Hiei looked to the woman glowering at him, once the boy's eyes had met with the woman's she began to spout.

"The most disgraceful and disgusting thing I've ever seen in my life! How dare you! " The woman walked away. Hina held onto her son, her head bowed, trying to keep her tears in, she had barley taken 2 steps outside of her home and she was already being insulted.

Rui looked to Hina and softly chided her. "Don't pay attention to ignorant people like that, they accuse an innocent infant because they are boar headed, stone hearted, hateful people."

Hina offered a faint smile. "Thank you very much Rui, for standing by my side."

"Rui smiled gently. "I'll always be here for you Hina, you are my most precious friend."

Having received an energy boost from her friend's words Hina shuffled through the snow. "Head elder said she would like to see me, so it looks like we'll get to move about the village for once in a very long while"

Rui followed Hina through the snow, they walked slow, letting the children look at their home. Unknown to Rui and Hina, Hiei had some simple telepathic power and was able to hear every word the cold hearted woman had directed at him, though too young to understand the meaning of the words, they would stay with him until he did find out the harsh truth of what was being said about him.

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**_Suggestions are welcome, give me some ideas, I have some good ones for when Hiei is much older, like when he's 9 or 10_**


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